Tom Hampson received a wake up call when he found out he was pre-diabetic.
Hearing that you’re prediabetic is as good a wake-up call as any.
The results from a recent blood test during a routine checkup were enough to motivate Tom Hampson, 64, to finally make his health a priority. “It was the final thing,” the Hoffman Estates investigator says. “I had for a long time been concerned about my weight. I’m a procrastinator — tomorrow I’ll take care of it. I can’t procrastinate anymore.”
At 6 feet, 2 inches and 316 pounds, Hampson is the contest’s oldest competitor. And in thinking about how he wants to spend the rest of his life, he says his current lifestyle isn’t exactly what he pictured. He wants to play with his future grandchildren. And he misses doing outdoor activities with his wife, such as golf, skiing and biking. “I’m reduced to watching other people do it on TV,” he says.
Hampson’s weight gain has come about slowly in the last decade, most of it after he quit smoking eight years ago, thanks to inactivity and too much fast food — particularly McDonald’s. Now, he just wants his old energy and endurance back. “It’s easy to say it’s because I’m getting old, but the fact is, that’s just not true,” he says.
He’s approaching the challenges of the contest as a spiritual exercise, to care equally for his mind, body and spirit. “I’ve neglected the body,” he says. “I haven’t given it a nice home.”